Pete lives in the Pohangina Valley, Aotearoa/New Zealand and writes about travelling and people, mountains and other wild places, photography, Aotearoa-NZ, natural history, strangeness and possibility, wondering, life in general and a swag of other stuff. ('Paw-HUNG-in-uh' is a close enough pronunciation.)

September 2008The life of birds: Musing about flight and birds. Photos: Playing with light (2), tui. (29 September 2008).Twenty-one: Ming, the cat from next door. Photos: Ming (2), Jimmy/Tigger. (15 September 2008).Flipping rocks: International Rock Flipping Day and Conservation Week. Photos: Kereru, spider, skink. (7 September 2008).

August 2008Life after birth: The survival of life. Picture: Winter willows. (29 August 2008).The joy of organs: National Offal Week: A celebration (?) of offal-eating. Photos: Hooded vulture (Ghana), blowfly, agama lizard (Ghana). (21 August 2008).Nepal: Return to Pokhara: Sketches from Pokhara; the significance of families. Photos: Crow, Phewa Lake (2), road marker, Macchupuchare, where Corbett shot the man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag (India), kids at Rudraprayag. No shelter from the storm: The aftermath of the July storm. Photos: View from the kitchen, broken stump. (13 August 2008).The uselessness of everything: A defense of science and wonder. Photos: Paua, evening over Hawke Bay, caravan, beach, 23 kereru, leaf and rain, lagoon, ute and skull. (5 August 2008).

July 2008Wordlerised: Playing with Wordle. (28 July 2008).This is the world now: Winter in the Pohangina Valley. Photos: Winter skyline, view from the back door. (19 July 2008).

June 2008Nepal: towards Annapurna (Part II) : Trekking the Annapurna Sanctuary trail from the Himalaya hotel back to Naya Pul. Photos: Forest in rain, rufous sibia, Annapurna South (2), Kali Gandaki evening, ponies at Ghorapani, chooks. (17 June 2008).Nepal: towards Annapurna: Kathmandu to Pokhara, then the Annapurna Sanctuary trek as far as the Himalaya hotel. Photos: Chook at Tolka, boats at Pokhara, rain at Tolka, snow at the Himalaya, hijinks at the Himalaya, views from the Himalaya hotel (2). (7 June 2008).

May 2008The end of the world as we know it: Thinking about the planet's prognosis and how to act in light of that. Photos: Mantis head, toadstools, Nandor Tanczos, snowboarder, white-faced heron, woolly mullein, sastrugi and Girdlestone. (16 May 2008). Thinking about squid (poem) : Photo: Live squid at Hakodate market. (9 May 2008). Not gone yet : An cursory update on what I've been up to. Photo: Pourangaki River “woodcut” (7 May 2008).

February 2008Bouldering — it's all in at the head: A report from the 2008 National Bouldering Series event at Baring Head, Wellington harbour. Photos: Climbers in action (3). (26 February 2008).Friends and definitions: A meandering meditation on friendship, the nature of definitions, and the importance of examples and analogies. Photos: Kokako, musicians (Slate Row; 3 photos), my late uncle, Amelie. (5 February 2008).January 2008The tides is pulling me: Playing with a close-up photo of the Pohangina river. Photo: Not sure how to describe it. Best to go and look. (18 January 2008).Hone Tuwhare: A poem, Tuwhare's Mussel, paying tribute to Hone on the day he joined his ancestors. Photos: Flat Point, on the Wairarapa coast (2). (16 January 2008).Ed Hillary's new challenge: Remember him as he was. Photos: Prayer flags, Nepalese child, evening silhouette (all from the Annapurna region of Nepal). (12 January 2008).

December 2007Where to begin: A meandering post about exploration, Christmas, insects, time and life, and beginnings and endings. Photos: Vegetable sellers at Jamnagar, India; robber fly; Pourangaki headwaters (Ruahine Range). (31 December 2007).One more; once more: Another notification about leaving for a few days in the Ruahine. Photos: Whio; Badumna (grey house spider). (17 December 2007).Danger: Whio (blue duck) survey in the north-central Ruahine Range. Photos: Whio and chicks (5); titipounamu (rifleman) female; Ranunculus sp. in rain. (13 December 2007).On a long coast: A few days on the eastern coast of Aotearoa — real New Zealand, before it’s gone. Photos: Cliff-perching grass clump; beach scenes (3); white-faced heron; wind-sculpted cliff; driftwood; rabbit. (3 December 2007).

November 2007Over the Ngamoko: Three days in the headwaters of the Pohangina: Leon Kinvig hut, Ngamoko hut, whio. Photos: Ngamoko tops; on Knights Track; riverbed panorama near Ngamoko hut; river rapids (2); snowgrass & cloud on the tops (2). (27 November 2007). Off into the hills: Just a note that I was leaving for a few days in the Ruahine. Photo: Ngamoko tops. (21 November 2007).The hunted animal: Thoughts from the top of No. 1 Line, about what it means to belong somewhere — especially if you’re an introduced mammal in Aotearoa. Photos: On the No. 1 Line track; chamois. (18 November 2007).Emergence (poem): Photo: Firewood pile (heavily processed). (12 November 2007).October 2007Getting to the point (poem): Photo: Beach detail near Pencarrow Head (B&W). (29 October 2007).The ruins of the moment: [27 February–2 March] Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan. Photos: Langurs (3); treepie (2); chital stag; sambar; roots; parakeets; moon over cliffs; tiger eyes (at Naini Tal zoo). (12 October 2007).Talking to Albert (poem): A poem from 1994. Photo: Miep. (10 October 2007).

September 2007Yellow flowers, smiling: Snapshots from the city (Wellington) and the coast. Photos: Quail (2); oystercatcher; boneseed flowers. (26 September 2007).How to get lost: On the edge of imagination; hope for an ephemeral life. Photo: Tauhou (silvereye). (11 September 2007).Grace on a rainy day: International Rock Flipping Day, No. 1 Line. Photos: Spider, No. 2 Line landscape, rimu bark. (2 September 2007).

29 June 2005

[Last updated 11 May 2014]
These are some of the books that have attracted my attention. While I’ve called this post a wish list, I hope you’ll look at it not (just) as blatant begging but as 1) something that might give you ideas for your own reading and 2) something of an insight into my interests. Regarding 2), you should quickly recognise some general themes: photography, writing, travel, the ‘natural’ world and—because I can’t think of a better phrase—‘what it means to be human’.

The links are mostly to the relevant Amazon page. I’ve copied them from my Amazon.com wish list because they’re a convenient source of information, but if you do feel like buying a book (for yourself, me or another friend), please don’t feel obliged to buy it from Amazon (if you can, support your local independent bookseller). Note that some of these books are likely to be difficult or impossible to get.

I haven’t got around to classifying these into a logical or priority order, although those at the top tend to be those I’m currently lusting over to the greatest degree. I’m likely to change the order and content of this list (check the ‘last updated’ date at the top of the post).

About Pete

Pete lives in the Pohangina Valley, Aotearoa/New Zealand. His primary blog, Pohanginapete, is about travelling and people, mountains and other wild places, photography, Aotearoa-NZ, natural history, strangeness and possibility, wondering, life in general and a swag of other stuff. It has lots of photographs, too.
He updates his photoblog, The Ruins of the Moment, every few days (with the occasional hiatus).